> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://www.isaacbowen.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://www.isaacbowen.com/2024/09/29.md).

# 20240929

A story doesn't have to be told in order. For a never-ending story, it behooves the observer to handle this deliberately. A story only exists as long as the immersion lasts, and the story cannot end.

A purpose of the encore is to show you the ending before it's over. The last reverberations, the lights left low, a slow fade into suspension, anticipation for the unknown ahead: this is the taste the artist wishes to leave with you, the taste the audience wants to last. It's a kind of binding.

But it wouldn't work if it was given in order. An audience requires assembly and disassembly, and those are tasks, not experiences. When the show's over, people exit by rows and file out of the auditorium. Tasks with friends are fun, but that's no way to end a show.

So we show you the ending before the show ends, and *then* we play one more song. Everyone gets the ending they want; we all get to taste lingering reverie without the trauma of poor timing. We end elegantly, and then we end practically.

ABCD

ABDC


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